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The US Army sergeant who killed 17 people in a village in Afghanistan has been formally charged, and may be the first service member to be executed in more than half a century.

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 38, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and six counts each of assault and attempted murder in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province this month.

An Army statement said that if convicted of the top charges, the maximum sentence Bales faces is “a dishonorable discharge . . . reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, total forfeiture of pay and allowances, and death.”

The mandatory minimum sentence is life with the possibility of parole., with